Apparatus for drying finely-divided material.



R. S. KENT.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING FINELY DIVIDED MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1908. 91 4,052. Patented Mar. 2, 1909.

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R. s. KENT. APPARATUS FOR DRYING FINELY DIVIDED MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1908.

Patented Mar. 2, 1909.

3 SHBETSSHEET 2.

R. S. KENT APPARATUS FOR DRYING FINELY DIVIDED MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1908. #914,052. Patented M212, 1909.

3 BHEETS-SHEET 3.

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Wiin 68865! sa i ROBERT SAYRE KENT,-OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING} FINELY-DIVIDED MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 2, 1909.

' Application filed May 14;, 19118. --Serial No, $32,834:.

for Drying Finely-Divided Material, of which I the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for drying finely divided material, and particularly to an apparatus for drying moist granulated sugar, and the principal object of the invention is to provide means for pouring or spilling such material in such a man ner that the material is exposed more fully than heretofore to the air or other drying medium through which it falls.

The principal feature of the apparatus employed for carrying into effect the present invention .is a conveyer movable in such a manner as to pour or spill finely-divided moist material overan edge of considerably greater length than the straight edge over which such material is usually delivered. The conveyer is preferably in the liorm of a drum pivoted for rotation about an axis, and the edge over which the material is spilled is, in the preferred construction, irregular or zigzag and formed in a flight or flights running lengthwise of the drum and secured thereto,preferablyinside the same. With a circuit of flights so constructed, each flight forms with the drum a material-conveyer or bucket movable about the axis of the drum, and when the drum is rotated theseconveyers spill their charges successively from the long irregular or zigzag edges of the flights in such a manner as to form streams or showers of material of great length as compared with the length -of the drum and presenting to a drying medium a correspondingly great surface from which moisture may be abstracted by such medium.

Other features of the invention-will be hereinafter described and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

F igure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a drying apparatus embodying the present invention and adapted particularly for the drying of granulated sugarQFig. 2 is a crosssection of the same on an enlarged scale,

the section being taken in line 2 2, Fig. 1, and shows the type of flights used at the receiving end of t e apparatus; Fig. 3 1s a cross-section of Fig. 1, taken in line 33 of said figure, and also on an enlar ed scale, and shows the flights used near the center of the drum; Fig. 4 i 1 a substantially central longitudinal section the drum, thesame being also illustrated on an enlarged scale; Figs. 5 andv 6 are respectively a cross-section and a side elevation of a portion of one of the flights used near the receiving end of the drum, and Figs. 7 and 8-are similar views of a portion of one of the flights employed near the discharge end of the drum.

Similar characters designate likeparts in all the figures of the drawings.

In carrying my'invention into effect I may 'make use of any suitable drying apparatus capable of o oration in the manner hereinbefore descri ed, but prefer to employ one of substantially the type illustrated-in the drawings. These drawings represent a wellknown type ofgranulator for drying moist finely divided sugar, the apparatus being suitably modified to adapt my invention thereto.

In the construction shown in Fig. 1, 2 illustrates a material conveyer or granulator of a well-known type, su ported near its ends on roller bearings, sue as 3 and 4, at a slight angle to the horizontal for the purpose of assuring the movement'of material from the upper to the lower end of the drum. At the receiving end thereof is an opening 5 into which projects a spout 6, t rough which 1 oist sugar in a finely divided state is de ivered to the drum. This spout connects with a chamber 7 which is connected in turn with a supply-pipe 8 leading from a storage floor or bin above the aparatus roper. Within the chamber 7 a orce-fee device, such as a screw-conveyer 9, may be'placed for the purpose of positively feeding the moist su ar into the spout 6. Near the upper end 0 the drum provision is made for continuously rotating it, the means shown for the purpose being a large external bevel gear 10 and a driving hevel pinion 11 suitably su orted and carried by a driving-shaft 12. ear the lower end of the drum provision is made for preventing endwise movement of said drum, rolls, such as 13, coacting with the lower of the two external rings 14 and 15, on which the drum is supported, being employed for this purpose. At suitable points in the length thereof means are. provided for striking the drum -sharp blows for preventing material within the drum from adhering thereto, there bein three sets of these devices, which are terme knockers, em loyed for this purpose. Each of these linockers 16 coacts with suitable uick-let-off cams,'such as 17, on the outside of the drum. A hold-back pawl, such as 18, cooperates with the cams'of one set for the pur ose of preventing improper movement of t e drum. At the lower end '10 of the drum the dried material delivered .20 direction opposite to that in which the sugar passes through the drum. Suitable heating coils are shown at 2 1 for the purpose of raising the temperature of the current of air to the proper point. At the o posite end'of the drum a chamber 22 somew hat similar to that illustrated at 20 .is shown. The drum 2 projects into the chamber 22 and turns freely therein. The heated air which circulates-through the drum passes out through the o ening 5 therein andis carried-off by an e aust-fan, such-as '23. Driving pu leys, such as 24, 25 and 26, are shown on the shafts of the screw-conveyer 9, the exhaustfan 23 and the bevel-pinion 11, for. the urpose of operating these parts. These riv- 1ng pulleys may e rotated in any suitable manner, preferably from a common countershaft'or source ofpower (not shown).

The parts just described are all of well- 40 known construction and are embodied in drying apparatus in everyday use in sugar refineries.

In apparatus of this type as heretofore constructed it has been customary to make use of a drum havin one or more sets or circuits of internal flightsforming with the inner wall of the drum. sets or circuits of buckets or conveyers for receiving finely divided material, such as moist sugar, and

carrying it part way around a circuit as the I drum is rotated, and spilling it in showers from points near the upper side of. the drum.- The moist material has usually been spilled from fli hts having straight edges and in .practica y solid or uninterrupted sheets ex- ;tending from end to' end of the drum. During the rotation of the drum, which is continuous andin one direction, many. of thesesheets of moist material fall or are spilled at substantially the same time from the up er edge of the drum-in nearly parallel pat fis, the material in its fall being subjected to the action of a current of heated air or other aseous medium passing through the drum rom the lower to the upper end of the same.

entrant angles and sharp, angular pro ec- During its fall through this heated gaseous current the moist material is partially dried, it being subjected to the drying action over and over again by being repeatedly-"picked up by the buckets or pockets formed by the flights at the lower side of the drum, and carried up to the upper side of the drum and spilled therefrom. As this operation is repeated the material is more and more thoroughly dried, and is also graduallyfed'from the upper toward the lower end of the drum, from which it is finally delivered in a practically dry state.

I have found that the-time required to dry finely divided moist material in an apparatus of the type heretofore used may be very greatly re uced by exposingto the action of the drying medium surfaces of moist'material of greater area than are exposed to such medium in apparatuses in which-the moist material is-caused to fall or spill from flights having straight edges. Any suitable means may be employed for increasing the surface of a falling stream in an apparatus of this kind exposed to the, action of a drying'me dium, but in the preferred construction I make use of flights having spilling edges of considerably greater length than. a straight line connecting the terminal oints of each of such edges, the object 'of t is being to increase the length of the falling stream, measured lengthwise of the drum: By making these spilling edges irregular, particularly when the spilling -line is zigzag, with deep retions, the length of the stream falling from the edge of a flight may be'made'approximately twice as long, measured lengthwise of the drum, as the drum itself.v It will be evident that when at eachsturn of the drum the length of each falling stream is thus greatly increased, the area of moist material ex Used at each moment to the action of the ryin medium is corres )ondin'gly increased, an that the drying 0 material passing through the drum is very much more quickly effected than is the case whenthe streams of material are spilled from flights having straight edges forming streams or showers of approximately the same length as the drum.

I have illustrated at 27 and 28 flightsfof two different typeswhich may be employed to advantage in my improved drying apparatus. Theflight 27 is a long narrow strip of metal having at one of its long edges an at- 120 taching member 29 disposed at an obtuse angle to the. body of the flight and containing 30 and 31, preferably staggered} withres met to each other, the flights being secure to the Walls ofthe drum 125 by rivets or other suitable securing means, preferablyLin such a manner as to form acute angled pockets or conveyer-buckets. At the opposite, long edge thereof the body portion 7 o the flight: 27 has an irregular or zigzag q w amass spilling edge 32 formed by substantially equilateral teeth 33 separated by correspondingly shaped tooth s aces. This type of flight permits the sp' ing of a stream from the edge 32 thereof of nearly twice the length of a stream spilled from a flight having a straight edge. The flight 28 is similar to the flight 27, having a corresponding attaching member 29 with rivet-holes 30 and 31.

The spilling edge, however, which is indi major ortion thereof, to fall from a point as near t e top of the drum as possible; while the straight flights 27, that is, the flights which do not have scoop-like body portions, may be used to advantage at the upper or receiving end of the drum, where the material is full of moisture and it is undesirable to use flights of such shape that they would be subject to clogging. L

It will be noticed by referring particularly to Fig. 4 that the flights in the drum are arranged in a plurality of sets orcircuits, the sets near the'receiving end of the drum being those which h ve straight flights, while the sets nearest t e discharge end are those which are shown as having scoop-like flights. Furthermore, it will be seen that the flights of different sets are staggered with respect to one another was to a 0rd greater resistance other gaseous medium therethrough, the oranization of the flights of the different sets being such thatwhile the flights of each set are disposed at suflicient distances apart to avoid interference of the diflerent falling streams in that section with one another, the current of air assing along the surfaces of the streams will have as great a surface of moist material to evaporate in each section as is practicable, and an irregular course to follow from one end of the drum to the other. By so constructing and organizing the arts it has been found in regular commercia use of such an apparatus that in the drying of granulated sugar considerably over twentyveper cent. (25%) of the time heretofore re uiredto dry such sugar is saved.

hat I claim is: l

1. In an apparatus for dryin finely divided material, a rotary V material-conveying drum mounted to turn about an axis disposed at an acute angle to the horizontal and aving a flight projecting from and lung close to the Wall of the drum,.said flight ava spilling edge of considerably greater to the passage of the current of hot air or.

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length viewed flatwise of the flight than a straight line connecting its terminal points.

2. In an apparatus for dryin finely divided material, a rotary materiafl-conveying drum mounted to turn about an axis disposed at an acute angle to the horizontal and having a circuit of flights rojecting from and lying close to the wall 0 the drum some of which fltiights viewed flatwise have irregular spilling e ges.

3. In an apparatus for drying finely divided material, a rotary material-convoying drum mounted to turn about an axis disposed at an acute angle to the horizontal and having a circuit of flights projecting from and lying close to the wall of the drum, said flights viewed fiatwise having irregular spill ing edges.

4. In an apparatus for dryin finely divided material, a rotary materia -conveying drum mounted to turn about an axis disposed at an acute angle to the horizontal and aving a circuit of internal flights projecting from and lying close to the wall of the drum some of which flights viewed flatwise have irregular spilling edges.

5. In an apparatus for dryin finely divided material, a rotary'materia-conveying drum mounted to turn about an axis disposed at an acute angle to the horizontal and raving a circuit of internal flights projecting from and disposed at acute angles to the Wall of the drum and some of which flights viewed flatwise have irregular spilling edges.

6. In an apparatus for dryin finely divided material, a rotary materia -conveying drum mounted to turn about an axis disposed at an angle to the horizontal and havmg a circuit ofinternal flights projecting from and lying close to the wall of the drum, said flights viewed flatwise having irregular spilling edges.

7. In an apparatus for dryim' finely divided material, arotary materia conveying drum mounted to turn about an axis disposed at an angle to the vertical and having at different points in the len th of the drum two sets of flights one set eing sta gered with replpect to those of the other an some of said ights having irregular spilling edges.

8. In-an apparatus for dryin finely divided material, a rotary materia -conveying drum mounted to turnabout an axis disposed at an angle to the vertical .and having at different points in the length of the'drum two circuits of flights the flights of one circuit being stag cred with respect to those of theother and a l of said flights having irregular pilling edges.

9. In an apparatus for drying finely divided material, a rotary material-conveying drum mounted to turn about an axis disposed at an angle to the vertical and having at difl'erent points in the length of the drum two circuits of internal flights the, flights of one circuit being sta gered with respect to those of the other an all of said'flights having irregular spilling edges.

10. In an apparatus for drying finelydivided material, a rotary material-conveying drum mounted to turn about an axis disposed at an angle to the vertical and having a circuit of flights some of which have irregular spilling edges with scoop-like teeth at the discharge end of the drum and some of which have irregular spilling edges with straight teeth at the receiving end of the drum.

11. In an a paratus for drying finely divided material: a rotary material-conveying drum mounted to turn about an axis disposed at an angle to the vertical and having at different points in the length of the drum two circuits of internal flights the flights of one circuit being staggered with respect to those of the other, and the flights near the discharge end of the drum having irre ular spilling edges with scoop-like teeth an the flights near the receiving end of the drum having irregular spilling edges with straight teeth.

turn about an axis disposed at an acute angle to the horizontal, and means for showering" said material in thin streams each of which is distinct from the others and which 001- lectively form lengthwise of the drum a sub- I stantially continuous flow-line of considerably greater length than a straight line connectin its terminal points.

'13. n an a paratus for drying finely divided material: a rotary drum mounted to turn about an axis disposed at an acute angle to the horizontal, means for passing a gaseous" drying medium through the drum from one end to the other-thereof, and "means for showering through said drying medium a plurality of thin streams of material each of which is distinct from the others and which collectively form lengthwise of the drum a ROBERT SAYRE KENT.

Witnesses:

LAURA E. SMITH. C. S. CHAMPION. 

